Matt@adams

April is officially Autism Awareness month and in support of Autism Speaks Adam's will be offering this limited edition 'light it up blue' kit. 100% of the proceeds from these kits will go to benefit Autism Speaks, the nations largest Autism science and advocacy organization.

We hope you'll join us in our support of Autism Speaks, the Light It Up Blue Campaign, and the families who are living with Autism throughout the world.

Most of all I personally would like to thank each of you, as a father of a child diagnosed with Autism this month means a lot to me and my family. Your contributions to this fundraiser are truly appreciated and though words can never express the level of my gratitude please know that my family, and families like mine, are so extremely grateful for your support.

- Dylan von Kleist, Detail Advisor & Customer Service / Adam's Polishes




To learn more about Autism Speaks or the Light It Up Blue Campaign please visit their websites:

http://www.autismspeaks.org/

http://www.lightitupblue.org/

floodofnoise

I am the father of a 10 year old autistic boy who is the center of my universe. Each one of these children is a unique gift and I want to personally thank you for contributing to this cause.

My son has been mainly non verbal for most of his life, but he taught me how to speak his language and we have a very tight bond. He has taught me more than I could ever imagine teaching him.

It is not easy being the parent of an autistic child, quite frankly it can be grueling at times depending on the severity. I can tell you though that it gets easier with time and parenting them is just as rewarding as any other great experience in life.

Good luck to you. Embrace the challenge know that you are not alone in this!

99_Z_155

iTrader: (7)

Would you mind at all describing what this condition is like? I can only draw from what I've seen on t.v and what I can read about. Im just curious what a typical day is for somebody who has the condition? Im just trying to understand the circumstances. Im not asking for a life story or something you have to put 20 minutes into writing, just maybe what the day to day challenges you face as the father, and those of your son? Things most of us might take for granted?

Matt@adams

I can't speak for him specifically or his situation, but I can give you a bit of mine. Also understand that Autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning it can be anything from very mild quirks to severe where the person may never be able to function independently.

We are somewhat fortunate with our son, he was diagnosed early (just before 2 years old) and has been enrolled in intensive therapy and treatment programs to help him learn and function.

Speech is a big one for us... you can think of Autism kind of in terms of being a social disorder. My son, Tanner, never developed verbally and while we've worked very hard over the last 2 years he now only has a limited vocabulary and no conversational speech. Most of his communication is 1 or 2 word utterances... a lot of the time we rely on PEX (picture exchange) where he hands us a picture of what he wants to communicate wants and needs.

Sensory issues are another big one, that can manifest itself in 'stims' which are essentially repetitive quirky movements. Tanner was a toe walker for a long time... so much so he required surgery to repair his Achilles tendons which had shortened. He also flaps his hands uncontrollably when excited, and makes other awkward contortions with his hands and arms.

Its really hard to explain all that my day entails being a father to Tanner... I'll just say that its a full time job. In addition to being a parent you have to become a full time teacher and find patience you never knew existed. I guess the best way to explain it is its somewhat like hes disconnected from the rest of the world... it can be very hard at times b/c you start to feel like you don't really know your own child and the behaviors and issues make it seem as if they are just completely uninterested in your efforts.

In the end, I figure I was put in this position for a reason and I'm fully committed to doing the best for Tanner that I possibly can. Much like floodofnoise, in a weird way, I feel as if he has taught me as much if not more than I've taught him and I love him so much that anything I can do, no matter what the sacrifice, to help bring him into the rest of the world I will.

This movie has been airing this month on HBO (if you have it) and is worth a look if your curious what Autism 'looks like' - very powerful.

http://www.break.com/movie-trailers/...to-autism.html

floodofnoise

I can tell you that when my son was 2 years old he was much like Tanner. Matthew would only "parrot" certain phrases that he repeated constantly, sometimes for hours, for days even. He would become very frustrated because he could not communicate his feelings, fears, desires. I remeber being a very young father and not knowing exactly how to deal with his outburts in public places. I would be anxious taking him to ballgames, movies, ect because I never knew how he would react to the stimuli. I was often sneered at by other parents for not being able to "calm my child down".

I have learned so much over the past 10 years it is unreal. Matthew still flaps his hands when excited, which is very often! He has a bit of a calloused area on his chest because of it, years of it. We have tried different methods of calming that down but have came to a compromise that he will always have certain tendencies which is ok.

I am here to tell you that now, at 10 years old, Matthew can talk in sentences. He loves to read and draw. He is a very well behaved child that enjoys going out to public places, the movies, WWE shows, ect. He calls my WS6 the "Redline" car (from the godawful Redline movie, lol). We often put on some sunglasses and cruise the city in the TA. He still has all of the traits of autism, but has come much farther than I would have ever imagined.

I know at this point in Tanners development things may seems like a huge mountain in front of you Dylan. I promise you that with time, patience, and love you will be amazed at what Tanner will be able to do! Best regards to you and your family

Matt@adams

Bump... the kit is on sale thru the end of the month then the money is forwarded to Autism Speaks. Get your kit and support this great cause!!

I am all to aware of this anxiety... having to be careful about where you choose to take him for dinner. Avoiding extremely crowded shopping malls. Large family gatherings can go south very quickly. The looks and stares we get when he does have an outburst leave me so angry sometimes. People just don't understand.

We've found some small pieces or 'normalcy' thanks to lots of research, for example - AMC theaters puts on "sensory friendly films" once a month. A kids movie is aired at 10am in a specific theater... the leave the lights up a little, keep the audio down a bit, and allow the kids to do whatever they want. Tanner really enjoys going to the movies, but if we tried a 'normal' showing we'd end up being hissed out of the theater if he became noisy. Before he was born I dreamed of taking him to a ballgame as I LOVE baseball (huge Angels fan). Admittedly due to my own apprehension about it I haven't yet b/c I don't know how he'll react, but I think I will try soon and see how it goes.

floodofnoise

My mother passed away in 04' when my son was 3 years old, and my wife and I were still in our early 20's. She told me that God would never give me more than I could handle and that Matthew was a complete human being in the eyes of God, and she was right.

I am not a religious person, but that has stuck with me through the years. I know it's hard because everything you imagined that parenthood would be like, well..... it isn't, it will be different. I kind of took it that I was chosen for this by a being greater than any other and I accepted that my idea of parenthood was out the door, and that was ok.

I could sit here and write an entire book about my experiences with my son, easily. The one thing that will benefit Tanner the most is the same thing that benefits all kids the most, and that is that you and his mother stay together no matter what.

Seriously Dylan, if you ever need to vent, rant, whatever-- shoot me a PM, soon enough you will have stories to brag about, developments that exceed your expectations, and a much brighter future than once thought. You are already doing the right things for your son, and that all you can do, good things will happen in time!

i'm sofa king

early diagnosis is the best thing. my brother is austistic but was not diagnosed until he was almost 22. then it took till he was 25 to get disablity for the gov. amyway, i dont think my parents tried hard enough, cause he's now in prison for arson.

takes special parents to raise autistic children, not crazy hippies.


sorry, totally off topic.